I don't know the full history of beekeeping devolopment. But I would imagine it went from logs and skeps, to maybe a top bar arrangement, until someone made a rolling press that could shape out the cells from pure wax. They might have even used flat pieces of wax for a time.

Moveable frames were invented prior to langstroth's great discovery of bee-space. And sometime after that the first foundation press was invented... by dadant I believe. I would assume that natural comb on those early frames was what occured.